International disputes: Cotton monoculture in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan creates water-sharing difficulties for Amu Darya river states; field demarcation of the boundaries with Kazakhstan commenced in 2005, but Caspian seabed delimitation remains stalled with Azerbaijan, Iran, and Kazakhstan due to Turkmenistan's indecision over how to allocate the sea's waters and seabed; bilateral talks continue with Azerbaijan on dividing the seabed and contested oilfields in the middle of the Caspian.

Geography

Turkmenistan (formerly Turkmenia) is bounded by the Caspian Sea in the
west, Kazakhstan in the north, Uzbekistan in the east, and Iran and
Afghanistan in the south. About nine-tenths of Turkmenistan is desert,
chiefly the Kara-Kum. One of the world's largest sand deserts, it is
approximately 138,966 sq mi (360,000 sq km).

Government

One-party republic.

History

Turkmenistan was once part of the ancient Persian Empire. The Turkmen
people were originally pastoral nomads and some of them continued this way
of life up into the 20th century, living in transportable dome-shaped felt
tents. The territory was ruled by the Seljuk Turks in the 11th century.
The Mongols of Ghenghis Khan conquered the land in the 13th century; they
dominated the area for the next two centuries until they were deposed in
the late 15th century by invading Uzbeks. Prior to the 19th century,
Turkmenia was divided into two lands, one belonging to the khanate of
Khiva and the other belonging to the khanate of Bukhara. In 1868, the
khanate of Khiva was made part of the Russian Empire and Turkmenia became
known as the Transcaspia Region of Russian Turkistan. Turkmenistan was
later formed out of the Turkistan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic,
founded in 1922, and was made an independent Soviet Socialist Republic on
May 13, 1925. It was the poorest of the Soviet republics.

Turkmenistan declared its sovereignty in Aug. 1990 and became a member
of the Commonwealth of Independent States on Dec. 21, 1991, together with
ten other former Soviet republics. It established a government more
authoritarian than those functioning in the other newly independent
central Asian republics. President Saparmurat Niyazov, also called the
Turkmenbashi (Leader of All Turkmens), has attempted to create a cult of
personality through extravagant self-promotion. Cities, aftershave, and a
meteor now bear his name. In 2002, he renamed all the months of the
calendar—April is now named after his mother. Niyazov was voted
president-for-life by his rubber-stamp parliament in 1999.

Issues with Oil Exportation

In the 1990s, Turkmenistan exported gas through a Russian pipeline,
bringing in about $1 billion per year. But in 1993, Russia closed down
Turkmenistan's only pipeline because it competed with Russia's own gas
exportation. Turkmenistan was limited to exporting gas to its impoverished
central Asian neighbors, who were unable to pay their bills. The nation
then opened a pipeline route to Iran, generally agreed to be the most
economical route for exporting Caspian oil, and thus ruffled the feathers
of Iran's enemy, the U.S. So far, the new plan has not brought in money,
and the country is living off loans from Western countries, such as
Germany, who hope to partner with the oil-rich, money-poor country. In
2003, Russia agreed to buy 60 billion cubic meters of gas from
Turkmenistan annually. At the time of the deal, Turkmenistan began to
restrict the rights of its ethnic Russian citizens, infuriating
Russia.

An alleged assassination attempt against Niyazov in Nov. 2002 (thought
by outsiders to have been staged) resulted in the conviction of 46
opposition leaders and critics of the government.

First Contested Elections Lead to a Questionable Outcome, New Constitution

In recent years, the country's educational system has degenerated
significantly—the number of years of school required has been
reduced, the curriculum has grown increasingly vocational, and substantial
classroom time is devoted to political propaganda, including the
president's own book, Rukhnama (Book of the Soul). On Dec. 21,
2006, Saparmurat Niyazov died suddenly after 21 years of draconian rule.
In Feb. 2007, the country held its first contested elections, and former
deputy prime minister and health minister Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov won
in a landslide. The exceptionally high voter turnout and margin of victory
left many observers to question the validity of the election.

In July 2007, Turkmenistan, Russia, and Kazakhstan agreed to build new
pipeline north of the Caspian Sea, ensuring Russian access to Turkmen
gas.

In April 2008, Turkmenistan reverted to its old calendar with Turkic
and Russian names when President Berdymukhamadov abolished the names of
days and months introduced by the previous president.

On Sept. 26, 2008, after two decades of isolation under autocratic
leader Saparmurat Niyazov, Turkmenistan adopted a new constitution that
abolished the exsisting People's Council and called for a new parliament (the Mejlis, or Assembly)
almost double in size, promoting multi-party politics and a market
economy. Parliamentary elections were held in December 2008, resulting in the representation of the Mejlis being increased from 65 to 125.

President Berdymukhamedov was re-elected in February 2012, taking 97% of the vote. Seven other members of his party also ran in the election.